Last year the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology published a review article on penalty-taking in soccer (Vol 6, 2013). In light of us having just entered the knock-out phase of the 2014 World Cup, I’ve pulled out a few interesting bits of information;

Performance profiling is a simple technique used by coaches and psychologists to increase athletes’ self awareness of the core qualities necessary for peak performance in a given sport. It often forms part of a goal setting process, and can be done either individually or in groups.

In our society, we are constantly told to believe in ourselves, in the outcome and that we can be the best. And with good reason: When we have that really deep-seated ‘knowing’ that we will win – it does indeed often seem to turn out that way. That’s true confidence, and that feeling undoubtedly does help to optimize our performance.